make application: Compile the Host Application - make application: Compile the Host Application - 2025.2 English

make application: Compile the Host Application - make application: Compile the Host Application - 2025.2 English - XD100

Vitis Tutorials: AI Engine Development (XD100)

Document ID

XD100

Release Date

2026-03-27

Version

2025.2 English

You can compile the host application by following the typical cross-compilation flow for the Cortex A72 processor. To build the application, run the following command.

make application

or,

cd $(BUILD_TARGET_DIR);	\

aarch64-xilinx-linux-g++ -mcpu=cortex-a72.cortex-a53 -march=armv8-a+crc -fstack-protector-strong \
   -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 -Wformat -Wformat-security -Werror=format-security --sysroot=$(SDKTARGETSYSROOT) -O -c \
   -std=c++14 -D__linux__ \
   -DM_LARGE=$(GEMM_SIZE) -DN_LARGE=$(GEMM_SIZE) -DL_LARGE=$(GEMM_SIZE) \
   -I$(SDKTARGETSYSROOT)/usr/include/xrt -I$(SDKTARGETSYSROOT)/usr/include -I$(SDKTARGETSYSROOT)/usr/lib -I$(HOST_APP_SRC)/$(MAT_DIMS) \
$(HOST_APP_SRC)/main.cpp -o $(BUILD_TARGET_DIR)/gemm_top_app.o \
   -L$(SDKTARGETSYSROOT)/lib -lxrt_coreutil

aarch64-xilinx-linux-g++  -mcpu=cortex-a72.cortex-a53 -march=armv8-a+crc -fstack-protector-strong \
   -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 -Wformat -Wformat-security -Werror=format-security --sysroot=$(SDKTARGETSYSROOT) \
   $(BUILD_TARGET_DIR)/gemm_top_app.o -L$(SDKTARGETSYSROOT)/usr/lib -lxrt_coreutil \
   -o $(BUILD_TARGET_DIR)/gemm_dsp_xrt.elf

Refer to this page for XRT documentation. Refer to this page for details of host application programming.

Switch	Description
-O \| Optimize.	Optimizing compilation takes more time and memory for a large function. With -O, the compiler tries to reduce code size and execution time without performing any optimizations that can take a longer compilation time.
-D__linux__
-DXAIE_DEBUG	Enable debug interface capabilities where certain core status, event status, or stack trace can be dumped.
-D<Pre-processor Macro String>=<value>	Pass pre-processor macro definitions to the cross-compiler.
-I <dir>	Add the directory `dir` to the list of directories to be searched for header files.
-o <file>	Place output in file `<file>`. This applies to any output type, including executable files, object files, assembly language files, or preprocessed C code.
–sysroot=<dir>	Use `dir` as the logical root directory for headers and libraries. For example, if the compiler normally searches for headers in `/usr/include` and libraries in `/usr/lib`, it instead searches `dir/usr/include` and `dir/usr/lib`. The `env_setup.sh` script automatically sets this.
-l<library>	Search the library named `library` when linking. The 2D-FFT tutorial requires `adf_api_xrt` and `xrt_coreutil` libraries.
-L <dir>	Add directory `<dir>` to the list of directories to be searched for -l.

The following is a description of the input sources compiled by the cross-compiler compiler command.

Inputs Sources	Description
$(HOST_APP_SRC)/main.cpp	Source application file for the `gemm_dsp_xrt.elf` that runs on an A72 processor.
$(HOST_APP_SRC)/matrix_A_data.h, matrix_B_data.h	Matrix A and B Data for matrix multiplication.
$(HOST_APP_SRC)/output_data.h	Golden data to which the DUT output is compared.

The following is a description of the output objects that results from executing the cross-compiler command with the preceding inputs and options.

Output Objects	Description
$(BUILD_TARGET_DIR)/gemm_dsp_xrt.elf	The executable that runs on an A72 processor.